Dealing with Bad Faith
by Smile Life Away
Summary: When Draco is delayed, Astoria Greengrass and Lucius Malfoy "bond" over a game of Wizard's Chess.


**A/N: You know when you're sitting in a car on a very long drive and you think "Ah-hah, I'm going to write a story" and when you're finished you think. "That wasn't what I was planning on writing or even wanted to write, this stinks!" and then finally "Oh whatever I'll publish it, **_**someone **_**will like it. This is one of those stories.**

**Disclaimer: Own it Nope**

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He's been gone for ten minutes and Astoria is just about to lose patience with him and walk out. But instead she just sits in the cushioned black chair, in the empty room, and taps her fingernails on the arm, until the tapping is just some sound in the background that she hardly notices and now she needs another distraction which involves blowing at a strand of hair that refuses to stay tucked behind her ear where she likes it.

Lucius Malfoy finds her sitting there but she doesn't notice him, not at first, and continues with her tapping and blowing until finally her head is starting to feel light so she just tucks the strand safely away and starts to nibble on her fingernails. Not that there's anything left to bite off.

"Let's play." He speaks finally and she looks up at what he's holding – Wizard's Chess.

"Okay." She agrees because Draco has yet to reenter the room and she really is starting to get bored of sitting and tapping her fingers.

Even so she doesn't relish in the thought of playing games with his father. The man is horribly intimidating, even if he is smiling, or is that a grimace. She really can't tell.

Astoria has never been good at chess, but she's determined to impress him because prior to this moment he hasn't said more than four words to her -_nice to meet you - _before going back to whatever he does in the dark corners of his mansion.

He sets up the board and she's given _Narcissa's _pieces. He says it just like that _Narcissa _and it shouldn't be strange because that is her name, but Astoria is so used to _Draco's mum _that she finds it odd.

Needless to say they don't exactly trust her.

"I give up." She says that after she loses her third game and he just pushes the board to the side and stares at her, his gray eyes seeming to read her every thought, and she can't help but wonder why Draco is taking so long. She doesn't have all day to sit in his living room and play chess with his father while he does who knows what.

"How are your parents?" He asks

"Fine." It really is simply a guess; she doesn't spend much time asking her parents how they're doing.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I heard their finances were suffering."

"Oh." Her voice cracks badly, and she's sure it's because of the way he's staring at her, judging her reaction as if sure she secretly has an agenda in dating his son.

He moves the chess board back and they start a fourth game, which she loses, and a fifth and she loses that one too.

"Don't you want to play someone who has some form of talent?" She asks hoping he'll agree and walk away.

"According to Draco you have plenty of talent."

And now her face flushes bright red because she has a good feeling that his impression of her is a gold-digger and a whore.

This time she starts the game and he follows along willingly through six and seven, even into eight. Each time she loses and now even _Narcissa's _pieces are exhausted and she's mentally determined that if Draco is not down here in five minutes she's going to walk out and leave no matter what his father says.

Five minutes pass and then ten and by fifteen minutes she's lost her ninth game and she's finally gathered the courage to get up and leave. Not that she gets farther than out of the chair.

"_Sit." _He says it calmly but with emphasis and she pretty much falls into her chair, but folds her arms in front of her chest and leans back on the chair as a form of defiance, or a way to be childish.

"There's no point in me playing anymore, there's no way I'll win."

"I don't like you." He finally says, and even though she's not surprised she is completely caught off -guard. "You whine too much."

"I'm just pointing out a fact, statistically speaking -."

"You're a pure-blood though. Any squibs in your family? Blood traitors?" He asks as if it's common etiquette to question someone over their family tree.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" He is definitely not impressed and Astoria sits back up, rakes her fingernails through her blonde hair, and then flips the chess board sending pieces flying everywhere. Of course Draco takes this point to walk down the stairs. "Checkmate." Lucius mutters under his breath and now she's ready to pull her hair out of her head but then she'd turn into Draco's gold-digging whore of a girlfriend who is also a masochist. Definitely not what she needs.

"I'll just leave." She says instead, and walks out of the room. It's probably the smartest thing she does because Draco yells at his father and runs after her, and she finally feels like she's accomplished something even though she's now sure Lucius Malfoy hates her.

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**A/N: Please Review**


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